Change We Still Believe In

For the first time in my life, I kept a vigil over the American election. And as I watched CNN for Obama’s victory rally, the atmosphere in Chicago and across the whole world was of great excitement. There was a feeling that Obama’s election would not only change tenancy at the White House but bring light to the dark spectre hanging over the world financial system and mounting detente.

Although it is too early for a comprehensive evaluation of the ‘change’ that Obama promised American voters and the whole world, the health care reforms, the closure of Guantanamo Bay and the resuscitation of America’s fractured economy are all observable features of the change that he promised. Obama is working with Europe and Russia in finding lasting peace to a world wrought with war. Offering the olive branch to what Bush called the ‘axis of evil’ is indicative of the fact that world peace is possible under Obama’s regime. The nuclear arms reduction and his handling of climate issues attest to the fact that Obama has lived up to and continues to live up to his campaign promises. — Appiah Kusi Adomako, 32, Ghana